Colors
by R u n a w a y B a n d i t
Summary: When the young Earth bender asks Katara for her help, Toph will go through many changes to gain the thing she's always wondered about. Tokka & Kataang pairings- Please read.
1. Admitting to the Lie

Waking up in the cold was something she would never get used to and flying in the air on Appa's back didn't help any, thanks to the wind being extra cold since they were headed back to the Southern Water tribe on the South Pole. Subconsciously she crawled to the nearest source of warmth and cuddled up against it, not caring what it was or who it was. They'd just have to get over it.

She pressed her forehead against something solid and warm and smiled as she then placed her hands on the solid object. She curled her legs up so she was curled into a sort of ball and tried to fall back asleep. She became more aware though when it felt like arms had wrapped around her form and pulled her closer, her chest now pressed against the object in question. Her cheeks felt warm, as she knew she was blushing. The object let out an audible sigh and she relaxed. She knew that sigh anywhere, but now she felt completely embarrassed being in the arms of the Water Tribe warrior. She wondered if she should try to get out of his grip without anyone seeing her, but she didn't want to lose the extra heat. It was a win-lose situation in her mind. Toph grumbled quietly as she closed her eyes and decided she wanted the heat more than anything at this point, and went back to sleep.

It had seemed like hours since she had fallen back to sleep but the sound of muffled voices above her brought her back to the world. She tried to ignore them as she was in a very comfortable position and she was warm and she didn't want to get up and face the cold again. She felt a hand on her shoulder and another on her head. It felt as though someone was playing with her bangs. Strange enough, it felt good. So, she decided to act like she was still sleeping and just listen to the conversation that was going on between her friends.

"You don't think she's sick, do you?" This voice belonged to the Avatar, she knew it. His voice was still somewhat on a high note as he had yet to reach puberty. She'd wondered why he thought she was sick.

"No. I don't think so. I think she was just cold."

_'Sugar Queen.'_ Toph thought to herself. Katara was the only other girl in the group, so it was easy to pick her out. Was it because she was sleeping next to Sokka is what sprung all the questioning if she was sick?

_'Gosh. One strange thing I do, they get all worked up.'_ She thought grumpily to herself.

"She probably didn't know who she had gone to though, since she can't see and all…" That voice belonged to the last person in the group, the one she was laying on.

_'Sokka.'_

"I wonder what it must be like to not be able to see…" Sokka thought aloud as he ran his fingers lightly against Toph's forehead, swishing her bangs around unknowingly.

"It's probably like walking around with your eyes closed all the time." Aang answered. Toph sighed softly as she thought about the subject they had stumbled upon, the subject she never really liked to talk about.

It wasn't like what they were saying wasn't wrong, what Aang had thought. It was just more like being in a dark room and never being able to find the light. She never liked the feeling, but seeing through the earth was ok enough to where she was fine with it. But sometimes…

"How about we not talk about that right now. You know, she could probably hear us, even if she is sleeping," Katara said quietly. The boys grew silent as Appa continued flying to the sibling's home. Toph planned on pretending to stay asleep until they got there, being as comfy and warm as she was. She let out another sigh and smiled, drifting back into a light sleep.

--

"H-how…do-o y-you l-live here?" Toph muttered, sitting as close to the fire the Avatar had made as possible without burning herself. She was bundled up in the Water Tribe clothing, except for her feet. She refused to wear anything on her feet so she could still see.

Sokka and Katara laughed lightly.

"We've lived here all our lives Toph." Katara answered. Sokka got up from his seat next to his sister and moved to sit next to Toph. He leaned backwards, resting his hands on the skin rug beneath them and smiled in Toph's direction.

"W-well, I s-still don't g-get it." A man entered the tent and looked at the group of kids. He smiled, and when he did, you could see the young Water Tribe warrior in him. Katara looked up to the man.

"Hi dad," She greeted. Hakoda walked next to her and sat down, cross legged.

"AAHCHO!" Toph let out a loud sneeze and grumbled under her breath. Sokka pulled the girl closer to him as he felt bad for her and tried to help warm her up. Her cheeks turned a bright pink.

"Bless you." Hakoda said. Aang and Katara looked at each other from their friend's actions and both exchanged confused looks.

Toph didn't object to Sokka's action. She was just glad she didn't make the move though, like she had during the early morning. She sighed as she leaned into him more, hopefully without bringing attention to herself by doing so.

"So, how long do you kids plan to stay?" Hakoda asked, wondering how long he would have his dear kids for. He always missed them whenever they would leave, ever since the day he had left for war. He missed them each and every day, but he didn't want to ruin their fun. He knew they were safe with the Avatar and he knew his children were strong enough to take care of themselves.

Sokka was first to speak.

"Probably not long,"

"We don't want Toph to get sick." Katara finished. Hakoda sighed. She caught hint of her father's sadness and frowned. "But we'll come back again soon dad." She added, to hopefully lift his spirits again. He smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"That's ok Katara. Thank you." The water bender hugged her dad and looked to her brother whole still had his arm wrapped around Toph.

"Hakoda, Hakoda! Come outside, come outside!" A young boy, around 5, came bounding into the tent, looking excited for whatever it was he wanted Hakoda and the others to see. The group got up, Toph unwillingly though, and headed outside.

The sun was setting and it had hit the snow hills just right to where there were millions of colors dancing on the hills. You could hear the kids yelling gleefully at the colors and see them playing in the snow, trying to catch the colors.

Katara, Aang, and Sokka were in aw. Sure the siblings had seen it before, but they never got over how beautiful it always looked. Aang had never seen anything like it.

"Wow…" Aang stammered. Toph's eyes were wide, as if she could see what they were looking at.

"What is it?" She asked, wanting to know what everyone was amazed about. She thought to herself though, that once you've seen nothing, you'll never see anything. The thought made her flinch. Sokka still had his arm around her left shoulder and pulled her closer to him on accident.

"It's an aurora australis …" He replied, his voice distant as he continued to stare at the world's beauty. The Earthbender rolled her hazy eyes and stared at the ground.

"Hmph. What's so great about it anyway?" She asked again, annoyed that he didn't explain what it was, besides it's name.

"The colors. When the sun hits the snow hills, sometimes on rare occasions it creates an aurora australis. It simply is magnificent." Katara explained. Toph glared at the ground now. She shook Sokka's arm off her shoulder grumbled.

"Oh. Well, it doesn't sound that amazing…" She turned around and walked back into the tent, back to the warm fire. Sitting down, she wrapped her arms around herself and stared blankly at the flames.

She remembered when they were in the war, and on the war craft for the Fire Nation and they had begun their attack on the Earth kingdom, burning all of their land. She remembered being able to see a faint glow in the back of her mind from all of the fire when they had split up and she was with Sokka and Suki.

Being in front of this fire, she could barely see the glow in the back of her mind.

Toph sighed as she rested her head on her arms and pulled her legs to her chest.

"Toph?" The girl in question lifted her head and looked in the direction of the entrance to the tent. It was Katara.

"Yeah?" It sounded as though her voice had cracked, but Toph didn't want to let Katara know anything was up. She felt the girl come closer to her and possibly sit down next to her.

"Are you ok?" Toph could hear the concern in her tone. Just like a mother.

"Yeah. Why would you ask a stupid question like that?" Toph asked, acting like her normal self to possibly try and get by Katara without her catching onto the lie. She could hear her friend sigh.

"Sorry…It just seemed like something was wrong…" A silence grew between the two of them and it felt like the boys weren't going to come back anytime soon as Toph felt their foot steps walking away. It was her turn to sigh and she let down her barriers.

"I guess…I'm just jealous…" She spoke, quietly as she rested her head back on her arms, staring at the fire again. Katara looked up to her, confused.

"Jealous of what?" She studied Toph's face and read the confusion and pain and sadness across her features. Sadness was the most apparent out of all of them.

"For the longest time, I've always thought that being able to see was just over rated. That's why I began to see through earth bending, so at least I knew what was around me…I know being blind has some advantages, but it's not as great as being able to see everything around you. I guess you could say, I've been lying to myself for a long time and…I'm tired of lying…" Katara knew this was hard for Toph, letting her feelings out like this. She was really good at keeping them to herself and not let them get to her. But, this must have been eating away at her for the longest time and Katara felt bad for her friend.

"I want to be able to see. Even for a few minutes, I want to be able to see what colors look like, what you guys look like…" Toph then looked up to Katara, or at least in her direction. "Do you think, you could try and work your healing powers on me?"

--

A/N:

So, this was the first chapter. Not that long, but this is just the beginning. Please tell me what you think and please review. I'd really like that. Lol, I'll give you a cookie!! 8D


	2. Work in Progress

A/n:

SO. I got to the second chap. That is amazing. Omg. I hope you all like it!! Third chap is coming soon,  
I have it all planed out. Read and review please!!

--

Katara agreed to help Toph in what she thought a futile effort but agreed nonetheless and swore not to tell anyone as to her request. Katara decided she would work on Toph during the evening or the afternoon, using the excuse that they needed to bathe or chores or something to get out of questioning for the disappearances to come.

"Ya know, you two keep talking to each other so much, it's making me think that you're gossiping and actually getting along." Sokka accused as he sat down next to Aang. The sun was high in the sky and Toph was enjoying the warmth she felt from it on her feet. Katara was busy making lunch, but she glared at her brother from across their little square.

"We get along. There are just times when Katara is crabby." Toph answered.

"It's not a crime to talk to a friend Sokka. We're getting to know each other better." Katara added, ignoring Toph's comment about her being crabby.

"I think it's wonderful you guys are getting along." Aang chimed in, happy that the two were bonding.

"Thank you Aang." Katara smiled at the Avatar and concentrated on stirring the soup that was being made. She took the four bowls that were sitting next to her and water bended the soup into the bowls. She then gave a bowl to Toph, then Aang, then Sokka. The soup looked like a strange concoction, but Sokka and Aang tasted at the same time and didn't seem too disgusted by it. The group ate silently, listening to the sounds of the Water tribe. It wasn't long before Toph finished first and got up.

"I'm done," she announced. Katara looked up to her and placed her bowl on the ground then got up too.

"Do you think you could help me with some chores, Toph?" Katara asked. Toph gave her the why-are-you-asking-me-? look. She thought it over for a second and seemed to have realized the hidden message in the question. She shrugged her shoulders in a casual way.

"Sure Katara." She answered. Aang finished his soup quickly and air bended his way up off the ground and smiled.

"Do you want some more help Katara?" he asked, more then happy to help the girl he loved. She shook her head.

"It's ok, I only needed one person to help me anyway." She replied, hoping she didn't hurt his feelings or anything. Aang's smile turned into a frown as he sighed sadly and sat back down next to Sokka who was still eating.

"Don't worry 'bout it Aang. It's probably just girl stuff anyway," Sokka said.

--

"I take it that I'm not going to be helping with chores, am I?" Toph asked. Katara smiled.

"Nope. We're gonna start working on your eyes." Toph knew this time was coming after Katara had willingly agreed in helping her, and she was excited but at the same time nervous. What if this worked? What if Katara was able to cure her of her curse and be able to see after 12 years of darkness?

Katara led Toph to a tent that was not in use and had a few empty beds in it. This was where the sick would rest and get better. Toph wrinkled her nose to the faint smell of sick people and Katara stopped her in front of one of the beds.

"Lie down," the water bender ordered in a gentle tone. Toph was somewhat reluctant in doing so, but did it anyway.

"What are you going to do first?" Toph asked, curious how Katara was going to do this, and jumped up onto the bed, staring in the direction of her friend. Toph could hear the swishing of water and guessed Katara had grabbed something filled with it and heard her walk back to the bed. Toph lied down against the flat surface of the so called bed and sighed.

"First, I'm gonna figure out how I'm going to do this. You know Toph, I've never done anything like this…" Toph could hear the conflict inside Katara's voice, like she was fighting with herself to not do this. Toph couldn't have this.

"It's ok Katara, I trust you. I mean, you can't possibly do anything to mess up my vision then what it already is." Katara grimaced at her words and stood next to the girl's head. She took off her mittens, exposing her flesh to the cold air inside the tent.

"Alright then…" Katara took the water out of the container she had and it wrapped around her hands, the color turning a light blue, to where it was almost white.

"This may be cold, but try to stay still Toph." She warned, not wanting Toph to freak once she placed her hands on the girl's eyes.

Toph gave a silent nod and Katara let out a deep breath, one she hadn't realized she was holding in. Her hands hovered over Toph's eyes and lowered them slowly. Once the water touched the bridge of Toph's nose, she jumped a little, but not enough to scare Katara. She was expecting as much. Toph tried to relax as much as she could as Katara fully rested her hands on her eyes.

"This feels really weird…" she chimed. Katara really didn't know what she was doing. She felt bad.

"It probably will at first…You'll get used to it though." It was the truth, but she didn't mention anything about her dilemma now being this was the first time ever doing anything this extreme was beyond Katara.

Toph was also scared. She had her hands clenched into fists around some of the fabric of her clothing and whatever nails she had in her left hand, dug into her palms as Katara continued what she was doing.

She had spent about an hour on her friend's eyes and learned a great deal on what was possibly wrong. She had tried to correct some things, but she didn't know how well it had gone. Toph had said she didn't feel all that different except for remembering the weird sensation it gave her, having her eyes submerged in the water without her body being so.

When the girls arrived back to the center of the village, Katara noticed there were a few more snow buildings up. She knew this was the work of her brother and probably Aang.

"You're back!" Katara turned to the voice and felt soft lips press against hers for a split second. Then she saw his beaming face, his bright smile, and his love-filled eyes.

"Uh, hey Aang." She greeted, her cheeks now a tint of pink. Sokka came out of one the snow buildings and brushed his pants off of extra snow.

"Hey guys. What took you so long?" Katara glanced to Toph and smiled.

"Chores took longer then I thought they would take." She replied simply. Sokka shrugged his shoulders and the group walked to their tent.

"So, when do you think we're gonna leave?" Aang wondered, sitting close to Katara, smiling. Toph found her blanket she had been using and wrapped it around her body.

"Hopefully soon." She muttered under her breath. Sokka sat in between her and Aang and was munching on some dry meat he had gotten from his father.

"Oh, come on Toph. It's not that bad out here. Sure, it's cold here, but other than that, it's nice!" Sokka complained.

"Psh. Yeah, ok Sokka. Whatever you say. I like my earth not covered in snow though. It messes with my sight, so I can't see straight." Toph replied. Sokka didn't want to let this go.

"You can't even see the snow. If you could, you might like it." He argued. What he hadn't realized though is that he had just stuck his foot in his mouth.

Toph clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry that I was born blind! I guess I'll just leave." She got up and stormed out of the tent and passed Hakoda who was about to enter their tent and sit down with them. He looked at her confused but decided not to press into it and continued inside.

"You idiot! Go after her and apologize!" Katara yelled. Somehow, she knew something like this would happen sooner or later, but she was shocked it came out of his mouth. She was sure it was going to come out of hers' out of anger towards the Earth Bender, but she never thought Sokka.

"Um…am I interrupting something?" Hakoda asked, confused on what was going on, but had some common sense to think it had something to do with the little girl that walked passed him, pissed apparently.

"No. We're just realizing that Sokka is a bone head." Katara said to her father as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at her older brother.

"Fine! I'll go apologize. I don't what good it'll do since she probably won't accept it." Sokka grumbled inaudible things under his breath as he got up and left the tent. Hakoda took his sons spot and looked at Katara.

"Wanna fill me in on what's going on?" he asked, wondering if he really wanted to know.

"Sokka made Toph feel bad about her being blind I think." Aang answered. Katara looked down.

'You have no idea…' she thought to herself, thinking back to the day before, how broken she had looked in that one moment.

"Hmm…it didn't really look like anything could upset that girl," Hakoda thought aloud.

"She's pretty good at hiding her feelings…" Katara confessed.

--

Sokka wondered aimlessly outside as he looked for Toph, not really wanting to find her at the moment, being that she was angry and she was probably more dangerous then Katara would be and sighed.

"Why can't I just keep my mouth shut sometimes?" he asked himself.

"Cause you've always been a loud mouth." A voice replied. Sokka jumped a bit from surprise and looked to where the voice had come from. Toph was sat on the ground, sitting on the blanket she had and she was hugging her knees to her chest. He couldn't see her face well, half of her face buried in her arms. He felt bad again.

"Toph, I'm…"

"It's ok." She didn't even let him finish his sentence. She knew what he was going to say. He looked somewhat confused now that he didn't know what to say now.

"Can I sit down?" He'd at least ask to sit by her so as to if he did and she didn't want him too, get earth bended into the air and land on his face in the snow somewhere, if he was lucky enough to fall in snow. She shrugged her shoulders. Sokka sighed and took a chance and sat down next to her, not to close to her, but within arms reach.

"I really am sorry for what I said…I know I was out of line and I didn't realize it until afterwards," He started.

"Sokka, you don't have to,"

"No, I do. You're my friend and I shouldn't have said what I did."

"I get it! Now stop apologizing already." Sokka became silent and placed his arms on his knees and then rested his chin on his arms. It was a silent moment between them, except for the sounds coming from the polar bears and children laughing loudly. Sokka glanced at Toph and sighed. It didn't seem like she wanted to talk or anything. He had never seen her like this, and he had seen her break down sometimes in front of him, like with her issues with her parents. This was something completely different.

Something was wrong and he wanted to find out how to fix it.

"Something's wrong, isn't there?" he asked bluntly, passed beating around the bush in asking her questions. She continued to stare blankly at the ground with her blind gaze. He sighed and got up but to be pulled back down, falling on his back and his head bumped against Toph's leg. He looked up to her in confusion as she continued to glare at the ground.

"Ok…?"

"Stay." Was all she said. He could hear her pleading in that one word and a long stream of sadness went through his heart. He wanted to do something, but was too afraid. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling right now, about the girl in front of him

He and Suki had problems in their relationship, so they decided to stay friends and end the relationship. At first he was upset about it all, but soon became numb to the feeling it had left him. Being with his friends really did help him, at least to feel like he wasn't about to break. He'd found himself hanging out with Toph more often then usual then. Aang and Katara were almost inseparable, even if they didn't see it themselves, so he didn't really want to try and separate them. He had really enjoyed being with Toph…

Sokka got up from his position and noticed Toph had a really good grip on the bottom of his jacket. He sat back down in a more comfortable way and gently pulled Toph into his lap, wrapping his arms around her small form. She was small, he always thought her fragile, but knew she was strong. What he didn't expect for her to do was to bury her head into his chest and wrap her arms lightly around his waist. It was a first, but Sokka didn't say anything about it and they stayed like that for a long time.

It was like they had fallen asleep in their moment they had and were out for a few hours. Sokka woke up somewhat stiff, from sitting through the hours with nothing to lean against and forcing himself mentally to continue sitting up right with Toph in his arms. His grip around her had somehow tightened and she was bundled in his lap, safe from the southern tribes' cold wind. She looked so innocent, it made Sokka smile. Deep down inside her, she was innocent and adorable. He snickered at the thought, not really being able to picture her being innocent while awake. After moments of thinking, he noticed that his eyes had wondered down her face to her cheeks. They were the lightest color of pink and without even thinking, he leaned down and brushed his lips against her skin, light enough to where she would hopefully not be able to feel it. Confusion drifted into his mind now as he pulled away and closed his eyes and sighed. He was awake now, but he kept still for Toph.

She didn't know where she was. She was lost somewhere dark and had no idea where to go. She thought about giving up, but as she was about to, the faintest light caught her eye. She turned to it and noticed that once she started walking to it, it got closer. Excitement coursed through her as she sprang into a run and ran faster towards the light, the light getting brighter and brighter. But when she reached it, it disappeared. She closed her eyes and wanted to cry.

Opening her eyes, they were assaulted by something she didn't know. Instead of the black darkness she was so used to, it was something different…it was brighter then her dark prison. Toph groaned and raised her arm up to shield her eyes from whatever it was and let out a yawn.

"Ugh…Did we fall asleep?" she asked, not really directed to anyone. Sokka opened his eyes and saw hers looking up to him. He was sure she didn't know what she was looking at, but her eyes held his in a sort of spell. He was so sure he had looked her in the eyes before and never felt this way. He shook it off as he loosened his grip on her and looked away from her.

"Uh, yeah. We did." Toph groaned as she tried to get up. Sokka set her on the ground and stood up, wobbly at first but then solid and helped Toph up.

"Thanks." She looked around and the light she had seen was real. It seemed like her dark prison was looking brighter. She smiled.


End file.
